


Unstable Ions

by askscienceboyfriends



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Bruce thinking deep thoughts, Ficlet, M/M, Science Boyfriends, no character interaction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-16
Updated: 2014-07-16
Packaged: 2018-02-09 02:18:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1965204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/askscienceboyfriends/pseuds/askscienceboyfriends
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce sits alone on the roof of Stark Tower thinking deep thoughts about his and Tony's relationship.</p>
<p>One of our quick fluffy ficlets about Tony and Bruce.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unstable Ions

Bruce sat on the roof staring out at the largest unbroken stretch of ocean the view from Stark Tower afforded. It was a taller building than most, but the city below still turned the sea into a thin blue streak rather than the full calm expanse he wanted. The view was a nice one, and Bruce wasn’t ungrateful for it, but in the gathering dark it made him miss the black skies and relative emptiness of New Mexico or the backwaters he often frequented afterwards.

Tony lived as private a life as was probably possible for who he was and what he did, but Bruce was still often surprised by business associates, employees, and the occasional secret agent. Tony had given him access to his schedule, but it changed often enough that such surprises were inevitable. Even Tony, as welcome as his presence was, was still a presence and made Bruce other than alone.

He missed the feeling of being covered simply from the knowledge that he was alone. He’d been in situations like this before. Grad school, army bases, the occasional hostel or commune; but the sensation had always grated. It probably always would. Cities had provided anonymity, another lost luxury, but it wasn’t the same as privacy. Being observed turned impulses from things he wouldn’t act on to things he shouldn’t act on. Tony would probably be understanding, would join in if, for reasons nigh on unfathomable, Bruce decided to jump on the couch. The restraint remained. It was possible that the control he was required to have even while alone made the control needed around people chafe more than it would have otherwise.

He hadn’t told Tony any of this. It was possible he never would. If he did they would probably go on vacation somewhere, sunlit, private, and perfect, but they would come back, as would the feeling. Worse, Tony might buy a cottage somewhere remote just for the two of them. Tony Stark had changed his life, but Bruce wasn’t ready to change Tony’s. “You don’t change perfection,” he mused aloud and smiled. Tony was far from perfect of course, but his flaws made him better somehow. More real and selfish, better able to understand Bruce.

As at home in a crowd as he was in the shower, he was in many ways Bruce’s opposite. He would jump on the couch alone if it looked like a couch worth jumping on. If it weren’t for his love of fine things and spectacle, Tony would probably give press conferences in the nude. Bruce took a moment to relish the fact that that particular spectacle was lately his alone. Well, his, and anyone who was willing to gather it piecemeal on YouTube.

The trouble was that alone Bruce would soon remember that he was probably terrible company. Familiarity and his accidental roommate hadn’t helped, but the thought wasn’t new. Being with Tony had helped. Beyond the attraction, friendship, and love he gained, there was the fact that he even liked himself better when he was with Tony. That was the bargain. Bruce sighed. They were an ionic bond, each stable only because of the other, improving the other. He missed Tony already and smiled. “Damn it.”

**Author's Note:**

> This ficlet was written about two years ago for our blog: ask-science-boyfriends.tumblr.com


End file.
